First Aid and CPR: Accidents and Risks

Risk

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines risk as the possibility that something bad or unpleasant (such as an injury or a loss) will happen.

Risk factors are those things that increase the likelihood of injury.  There are two types of risk factors that you will learn about. They are the controllable and uncontrollable risk factors that apply to injuries. 

Controllalbe Risks

Controllable risk factors are any behavior or action that you can change. There are three categories of controllable risk factors. The first are your habits, such as:

• Do you wear a seat belt when you in a car or not?
• Do you wear pads when skateboarding?

What about behaviors?  Do you drink and drive?  Do you get into frequent arguments that lead to altercations? 

The third type of controlable risk factors are your practices Do you get into a car with a driver who has been drinking?  Do you have unsafe sex?  What are the things you do that you have complete control over and could lead to injury?

Uncontrollable Risks

Uncontrollable risk factors are those things that you can not change. They include:

• Gender
• Wrong place at the wrong time
• Age
• Heredity

Here are some examples. If you review health research, you will find that males tend to have more physical fights than females. This doesn't mean that males will have fights, it's just a factor for increasing the possibility. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time there's not much you can do about that. Car accidents happen when people are sitting at red lights, have their seat belts on and have not been drinking. B roken bones may happen more when you are old or young. But, if there is a genetic connection or risk factor to bone density or calcium retention problems in your family, you may be at a higher risk of having a fracture.

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